God’s Servant, God’s Splendor

God's Servant, God's Splendor

“ ‘Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,’ declares the LORD God.” (Ezekiel 16:14 NASB)

I believe God calls. Specifically.

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

It sounds humble to say, “No, not me. I could never do ________.”

And we’ve heard the clichés. God equips the called. Blah, blah, blah.

What I’ve seen is elevation. God works with the one He’s called to produce a work far beyond the ability of the one called. Click To Tweet

Madeleine L’Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time, speaks to the artist:

If the work comes to the artist and says, “Here I am, serve me,” then the job of the artist, great or small, is to serve. The amount of the artist’s talent is not what it’s about. . . . Over the years I have come to recognize that the work often knows more than I do . . . The great artists . . . collaborate with the work, but for most of us, it is our great privilege to be its servant. When the artist is truly the servant of the work, the work is better than the artist.” (Walking on Water, p. 13-14)

I believe this is true not only for the arts, but also for any work to which we may be called. I think we must consider three things:

Are we willing to serve? When God called me to write professionally, I had no idea what that meant or where God was going with it. (Still don’t know this one.)

But the calling was clear. I am accountable to the One who called and “No” was never an option.

The more mundane callings of helpmate and mother were less clear to me and my inability to see those as callings greatly affected my attitude and the quality of my work.

Are we willing to work? We don’t step into God’s calling like working the concession stand at the middle school football game.

It requires training, commitment, and practice.

It requires work.

But it’s work He has prepared for you to do.

Are we willing to give God credit? In Ezekiel, God declares Israel’s beauty came from His splendor, which God chose to share. As God bestowed His splendor on Israel, He perfected her beauty.

As an artist, I’ve seen God seize a piece and elevate its writing beyond my level of craft. It left me humbled and awestruck. My hands trembled knowing holiness had touched that piece.

It happens outside the fine arts too. In the workplace. In the home. In the classroom. Will we give God credit when He chooses to work through us or will we claim it and rob Him of His glory?

God calls. Sometimes clearly and specifically. Sometimes through circumstance. Yet always He stands ready to lift the work from an ordinary, earthly level to an extraordinary, heavenly one.

Do you recognize the calling?

Can you appreciate the call to the mundane as well as the skill-specific calling?

Are you willing?

Are you ready to work?

When His fingerprints coat the finished product, will you give Him the glory?

Don’t miss out. Answer the call.

Workout of the Week: God’s Servant, God’s Splendor

Memory Verse: Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Meditation Passage: “ ‘Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,’ declares the LORD God.” (Ezekiel 16:14 NASB)

Just Do It: Answer the call.

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